Diamond of Brimstone
by Mia Angel
Summary: A plot absolutely different than that of the show- a totally different idea, unravelled with drama, romance, sacrifice, betrayal and love. Main characters- Migel, Dilandau and Marie. Read, review and enjoy. *ch.1*- introduction posted


  
Well, I haven't posted things up on ff.net for a year now, I think. I was too busy writing this story. Yup, it took me a while, and it is still not done. I bega to post up the beginning of it before- the first two chapters, but then the little plan of the plot in my head all of a sudden decided to change, change absolutely and for the beter, so I started all over again. The first few chapters are actually similar to the fist version, but the rest.....is very very very different. there will be a lot of action, adventure, romance, pain, love and sacrifice involved, as well as some maic, and of course, Dilandau and the Dragonslayers!   
Anyhow, please read and review- tell me what you think and keep chekcing back for more.....Oh, and Disclamer- I dont own any of the Escaflowne characters or ideas, and the only things that are mine here are the plot, Marie, Amosdeus and Everen. 

So, proceed, dear reader and read.   


Chapter 1- Farewell Earth and Welcome Gaia   


The wind caressed the young green leaves on a lean birch tree, swooped down to send ripples along sparkling water, and tugged at a few golden strands of hair. The owner of the hair put it back behind her ear for the umpteenth time and suppressed a sigh as it flew back out again. "Darn that wind" she muttered quietly to herself.   
Marie was sitting on the edge of a large, shimmering fountain that was in the very heart of a little park. It was almost sunset, when she closed the green notebook that was lying in her lap, and put the cap back on the pen, throwing her head back with satisfaction. Soft pink clouds were silhouetted against the pale, pastel-coloured sky, bathing in the farewell glow of the setting sun, and showering everything in a rosy glow.   
"Done!" the girl joyously announced to no one in particular. On the weekends, she liked to come to the park to do her work, instead of staying cooped up at home. She plopped her notebook down on the grassy ground beside the fountain, and reached for the battered-looking book that lay by her feet, while trying to zip up her light wind-breaker with her other hand. After managing to do both, she yawned and stretched, almost dropping the book into the fountain in the process. She groped wildly for it, trying to catch it before it hit the water.   
"Woa! Ow!!" , the girl yelped as trying catch the book she hit her knee on a sharp rock, causing her to bite her lip in pain, and whimper.   
"That will be one nasty bruise tomorrow!" she mumbled, glaring at the book in her hand, as if it was the cause of all evil in the world. But after rubbing her knee vigorously for a minute or so, the pain dissolved, as did the grouchiness, and she laughed at her own clumsiness. Cautiously taking the book up again, she opened it up at the book-marked page with a contented sigh. Leaning on one of the carved stone angels that crouched around the fountain, the girl began to read. The setting sun highlighted her blond, streaked hair, as Marie's green-grey eyes squinted slightly from the glare of the sun, darting from line to line, her slender fingers flipping the page once in a while.   
All of a sudden the girl realized that she has been in the park for a while, without any notion of time. She closed her book and leaned over the water, trying to get a better look at the clock stationed on a pedestal in the middle of the fountain. As she did so, her eyes skimmed down to the shimmering surface of the water, expecting to meet a reflection of a slightly wind-blown fifteen-year-old girl that she was.   
Instead, what met her gaze made her gasp. In the water shimmered two reflections. One was she, a stunned expression on her face, the other, just behind her was a dazzling, glowing, swirling white shape. It…it seemed to be a person, but there was an unearthly, ethereal presence around it… Marie's book slipped out of her fingers as she whipped around, and suddenly found herself engulfed by a blinding white light. She felt herself lifting off of the ground, and tried to reach for it, but in vain. The light was so bright, that she could not see anything around her but it. She tried to scream, but her voice came out of her mouth soundless, mute, and the only thing she could hear was her own pounding heartbeat in her ears, pulsating in hot waves. Then everything went black and she began to swirl in nothingness. Imagine yourself in space…that is dark, black, with no end and no beginning, no shape and no dimension…   
All around her flashed glimpses of people, places, all like none she has ever seen before. Battle scenes, magnificent cities, vast forests and fields flashed past her, like a slide show, at which the girl stared wide-eyed, unable to move, like a stunned animal. All she could do was shudder as she saw burned houses, crying, shivering people, soldiers lying in their own blood. Their screams invaded the air, radiating off of the darkness and echoing louder and louder. Suddenly everything became black again, and tiny stars started to light up all around her. Shining, shimmering, bright stars that swirled like little fireflies. Then she heard it… a voice, tingling, echoing, like a silver bell.   
"Marie…help us… You are the chosen one, of the spirits. Time on Earth has stopped, for if you don't succeed, there will be no more Gaia, and no more Earth. They are connected magically… and now, Gaia is torn by a war… stop it Marie… help us…"   
Marie tried to find the source of the voice, but there was nothing but blackness and the swirling stars around her. She felt scared, confused, and was trembling, her eyes wide with fear.   
"Who are you?" she cried, "Why… I have no special powers…I cannot do what you ask me. I don't even know what Gaia is!!"   
The voice swirled around her. " We will help you… for you do have special powers-you have us looking over you… Gaia depends on you Marie…the futures of Earth and Gaia are in your hands…Marie…" the voice began to fade away.   
Marie cried desperately, "No! Wait! How… why… Don't go away!"   
Suddenly a blinding white light again engulfed her, everything faded, and the ground suddenly rose towards her, catching her unconscious body with a dull thud.   
In the lonely park the wind slipped through the pages of the abandoned book, then everything froze…not a leaf moved, not a bird sung. And a hawk's silhouette became permanently shadowed against the night sky. Time has stopped its course. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Allen, Van and some of the Cruisade crew came back from a scouting party. They were figuring out their position, because the Cruisade was set in the middle of a large forest, somewhere on the boundaries of Zybach and Austuria, and they needed to figure out their next move. They had to get to Austuria undetected, and needed to know where Zybach stationed their guards.   
Hitomy and Merle ran out to greet them. Suddenly, they stopped short. Allen was carrying someone in his arms. A young girl, around 15 or so years of age, dressed in white pants, and blue top, with long, see-through sleeves. Her eyes were closed, her blond hair was uselessly hanging over Allen's arm, and her face was deathly pale.   
"Who is she? Is she…dead?" Hitomy whispered. Van shrugged grimly.   
"She appeared in a column of light like you… We don't know who she is, or where she came from." He said. Hitomy and Merle gasped.   
"Do you…do you think she might be from the Mystic Moon?" Merle asked.   
Allen sighed. "We have no idea. All we can do, is put her into a bed, and wait until she comes to."   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Marie's eyes fluttered open. She stared up at the dark ceiling. Her thoughts seemed all jumbled up, and swirled uselessly in her head, confusing her. All that she remembered, was the blinding flash of light, an echoing unearthly voice, and the words 'Gaia… spirits will help…Earth depends…' she strained her memory to remember more, but instead she just got a bad headache. She lifted her hand up to her head, and suddenly realized that she was not alone in the room. Slowly, she turned her head, and met the gaze of two large green eyes, staring right into hers. She yelped, and tried to back away, but collapsed back onto the bed- her head felt like in was on fire. The owner of the eyes fell back, and then stood up, smiling guiltily.   
"I'm sorry, I guess I scared you. So, how are you feeling?" Marie looked the person over. She was a girl about her age, with short golden-brown hair, and she was wearing what looked like a white-brown school uniform. Marie forced a weak smile.   
"Er…thanks, I've been better." She looked around the room. It was very simply furnished. There was the cot that she was lying on, a bedside table on which stood a jug of water and a glass, a few chairs, a half-empty bookshelf, on which, along with books stood a small vase of field flowers, and a large window. Marie looked out the window. It was almost sunset, and the golden disk was slowly, heavily sinking below the sea of trees, and the pale moons began to appear on the sky. Moons?! Marie looked in bewilderment at the two moons in the sky. One was a shining, silvery orb, the other… was Earth. Marie gasped and whirled around to face the girl.   
"Who are you? Where am I? Why… why is the Earth in the sky?!" she sputtered.   
The girl's face relaxed.   
"I am Hitomy Kanzaki, and this is the planet Gaia. So you are from Earth too, huh? So am I. Here it is called the Mystic Moon." She said that all, slowly sitting down on the bed beside Marie, and also gazing at Earth in the sky. Marie sat up.   
"Gaia… But…How?! Why?!" she cried, placing a shaking hand on the girl's arm.   
Hitomy turned around with a smile on her face.   
"I don't know… no one knows…why we are here or how we really got here. But it's alright here. You are in the hands of friends, don't worry. By the way, who are you?" she asked. Marie took her hand away, and was about to answer, when four more people walked in through the door. One, a boy about 15, with floppy black hair, and reddish eyes, wearing a simple red tank top, and white pants. Another man was older, around 19 or 20, with long blond hair and blue eyes, dressed up like a someone from the medieval times. He had a sword by his side, and so, Marie noticed, did the red-eyed boy. Behind them was a man about 25 years of age, with dark hair and eyes, and simple work clothes. And behind the men… Marie gaped at the girl (if it was a girl) who was standing just behind them in the doorway. She seemed to be a girl, but a girl who was half-cat (if that is possible? Thought Marie). They slowly made their way into the room. Marie sat up in the bed, silently watching them. Hitomy stood up, and walked over to them, giving them a smile, and a nod, meaning 'she's okay'.   
The younger boy stepped out. "Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Van Fanel, king of Fanelia". A real king?! The blond-haired man stepped up to Van "I am Allen Schezar, a knight of Austuria." And a knight?! The other man kind of did a half-bow, and introduced himself also. "Gaddes" At least he was not someone out of a book. Then he added "Second in command on this flying ship, Cruisade" and stepped away, looking smug at having introduced himself no worse then the other two. A flying ship?! Marie's eyes looked bigger than the moons in the sky. Finally the young girl bounced up to Marie, and stopped right in front of Marie's nose. "I am Merle, a catgirl, and who are you??" suddenly Marie remembered her manners, and gave a little nod. "I am Marie, and I am from Earth." Marie's voice trembled slightly, and she felt confused and scared, but some of her fear seemed to leave her, when she saw that everyone in the room smiled welcomingly at her.   
Now, let's leave them there, and instead listen to two whispering voices looking over that scene. Two voices that no one could hear, and whose owners no one could see.   
"She does not remember why she came here, or what I told her when I brought her here… Why?" one voice echoed, like a silver bell. The other, just as melodic replied,   
"Maybe because she fainted and there has been a slight memory alteration… but I think that Fate wanted it this way. She should find out for herself why she is here, and who she is. Plateneus will look over her if he can. And I feel that her road to realization and to saving Gaia, if accomplished, will be a painful, tearful and hard one, yet also sweet and happy. Bittersweet road. That, in her way, Fate shall see to. Bittersweet." With that the voices faded away, leaving us wondering, did we actually hear them or was it just the wind sighing in the trees?   
  


So, that was a rather slow beginning, it was rather just to explain things...review, and check back for more later one please! Arigatou,   
~Mia~ 


End file.
